Young MDs Hazy on Dietary Supplements

A third of young doctors are under the mistaken assumption that dietary supplements must be approved by the FDA before they hit the market, says a study in the current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Under a 1994 law, supplements “are assumed to be safe unless proved otherwise,” the authors write, and are brought to market without any input from the FDA. The multi-billion-dollar supplement market includes “vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues, glandulars, and metabolites,” according to the FDA.

Researchers tested more than 300 doctors at 15 internal medicine residency programs around the United States on their knowledge of how supplements are regulated. Some 90% of the respondents were medical residents, who have received their MDs and are in the midst of clinical training; the other 10% were the attending physicians who supervise the residents.

More than a third of those who took the quiz wrongly believed that dietary supplements had to be approved by the FDA before being sold. Attending physicians fared better than the overall group, though 15% still thought supplements required FDA approval. And roughly 60% of both residents and attending physicians were unaware that serious side effects of dietary supplements are supposed to be reported to the FDA.

The authors of the study argue that doctors “have a responsibility to educate their patients regarding the regulation of supplements so that an informed decision about their use can be made.”

One of the authors reported receiving income as an editor of an online course published by Johns Hopkins and designed to teach doctors about the regulation of supplements.

Comments (3 of 3)

"doctors misleading patients"? With all of the S&%* you have to learn in medical school and residency, do you really think doctors have time to learn about federal regulations of nutritional supplements, which are bogus anyway? Get your priorities straight. What do you want your doctors to know... how to treat illness, or whether St Johns Wort is regulated.

Please!

8:34 pm May 15, 2007

Biomed Tim wrote :

Where can I get more information on this online course designed to teach doctors about supplement regulation?

11:22 pm May 14, 2007

Christian Goodman wrote :

Makes one wonder what else doctors are misleading their clients about. That's one reason why I always say; get a second opinion.